Good morning! Da na na, da na na. If you deciphered that as the SportsCenter theme music, then you know what’s coming next. Kyte McDonald received the Baseball Play of the Week honors from the AAC for his diving catch into the back wall to save a run. We’re looking forward to seeing more of that this weekend, Kyte!

What else is steeping in today’s Brew?

🏄‍♂️ Riding the (New Orleans) wave
👟 Run, Shockers, Run!
​🌾 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Ride The Wave. Wichita State baseball will hit the road this weekend as they prepare for their three-game series against Tulane. Looking to build on last year’s season sweep of the Green Wave, the Shockers head into New Orleans looking to pick up some wins to try to take sole possession of first place in the AAC.

🚀 Brock Rodden looks to continue his hot streak after a homer in his earlier outing this week. He leads the team this season with nine deep shots, as well as 37 RBIs. Not far behind him is Garrett Pennington with seven over-the-fencers and 26 RBIs.

💪 Payton Tolle, our very own Shohei Ohtani, will look to keep his perfect 6-0 record on the mound this weekend. As if that weren’t enough of a contribution, he’s been stellar at keeping this bat hot with a .341 batting average with a team-leading 45 hits.

Tulane enters the series 9-24 and on a three-game losing streak—a perfect spot to rack up some wins. Cheer for the boys in black and yellow and watch all of the action this weekend on ESPN+. First game of the double-header is today at 2:00 pm, then later the second game at 6:30 pm.

🔼 Aces In The Hole. Both men’s and women’s tennis take the court tomorrow for Senior Day matches against Creighton at the Coleman Tennis Complex.

Alex Richards and the rest of team head into the matchup for the men’s side looking to carry their momentum from their clutch win against No. 55 SMU last weekend. The ladies come in with some momentum of their own, winning four of their last five matches. Doubles pairing Jessica Anzo and Kristina Kudryavtseva got the team their sole win of the match last week and will look to do the same this weekend.

Each team will use this as their final chance to put things together before the American Championships next week in Orlando.

🔼 Run, Shockers, Run. Most of the track & field squad are competing in the 100th installment of the Kansas Relays this weekend. And by “most” we mean “all except reigning AAC champion of the 3,000-meter steeplechase Clayton Duchatschek” who will be racing against seven of the top 25 runners in the country in the Bryan Clay Invitational out on the West Coast.

High jumpers Brady Palen and Destiny Masters come into the weekend as No. 8 and No. 16, respectively, in the country, but will each face top-25 jumpers this weekend to try and improve their rankings.

Stay up to date with each event at the Kansas Relays here and watch Clayton Duchatschek go up against the best of the nation here.

🔼 Coming In Hot. Wichita State softball (…ahem) 20th-ranked Wichita State softball heads into this weekend’s series against Houston on a 10-game win streak and riding the high of knocking off the second-best team in the country earlier this month. To say the Shockers are on a roll would be an understatement.

💥 The nation’s leading hitter in Sydney McKinney is boasting an incredible .556 batting average with an NCAA-high 79 hits—14 clear of the next highest batter. Pair that with Addison Barnard’s 17 home runs and Lauren Mill’s .539 on base percentage, and the offense plays for itself.

🛡️ The Shockers’ pitching trio in Alex Aguilar, Lauren Howell, and Alison Cooper have averaged a 2.40 ERA together with 20 complete games under their belts. It’s a recipe for success, and we’ve seen the product on the field prove just that.

Catch the Shockers this weekend on ESPN+ or get tickets for the three-game home stand at Wilkins Stadium here.

🤔 SHOCKER TRIVIA

Making noise. Wichita State has produced some amazing upset victories for fans and alums across the nation, but can you name the biggest statistical upset of the Shockers’ 2022-2023 athletic calendar year thus far?

Think you got it? Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

🌾 ONE BIG THING

The Shockers’ very own Craig Porter Jr. will take part in the PIT this weekend. But don’t let the name fool you. This is a mountain of an opportunity.

The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, also known as the PIT, is a four day, 12-game tournament that gives college seniors a chance to showcase their skills to scouts from the NBA and other professional leagues. Players such as Rick Barry, John Stockton, and Scottie Pippen have gained recognition from this tournament, so to say there are diamonds among this group would be an accurate assessment.

The 6’2 guard is just one of three invitees from the AAC to play in the PIT this year. He is guaranteed three games to show his stuff and make his mark on each of the pro scouts, and has already done so in the team’s debut last night with eight points and three assists. Porter Jr. averaged 13.6 points with an impressive 1.9 blocks per game and just under 5.0 assists per outing with the Shockers this past season.

You can root for Craig and follow along with the Portsmouth Invitational this weekend via livestream on portsmouthinvitational.com.

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Shocker Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every weekday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

📅 THE WEEKEND AHEAD

Friday 4/14

👟 Track & Field @ Kansas Relays

⚾️ Baseball at Tulane @ 2:00pm CT on ESPN+ | Live Video

⚾️ Baseball at Tulane @ 6:30pm CT on ESPN+ | Live Video

🥎 Softball vs. Houston @ 6:00pm CT on ESPN+ | Live Video | Tickets

Saturday 4/15

👟 Track & Field @ Kansas Relays

⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Hawkeye Invitational

🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Creighton @ 10:00am CT

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Creighton @ 1:00pm CT

🥎 Softball vs. Houston @ 2:00pm CT on ESPN+ | Live Video | Tickets

⚾️ Baseball at Tulane @ 6:00pm CT on ESPN+ | Live Video

Sunday 4/16

⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Hawkeye Invitational

🥎 Softball vs. Houston @ 12:00pm CT on ESPN+ | Live Video | Tickets

⚾️ Baseball at Tulane @ 12:30pm CT on ESPN+ | Live Video

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Women’s basketball defeated No. 1 seed USF in AAC Tournament

South Florida came into the tournament 27-0 all-time in the AAC Championship, but went down in a wire-to-wire victory by the Shockers to send Wichita State to the semifinals.

Have a great weekend, everyone.